With the growing popularity of computer networking and the growth of large computer networks, it is becoming increasingly necessary for network administrators to establish and implement network policies. Policies are needed to address a variety of issues, including security, load balancing and bandwidth allocation. Many policies are directed to different types of users. For example, a corporation may have a policy that restricts outside contractors to certain resources on the network, while allowing unrestricted access by employees. An Internet service provider (ISP) may also have policies, such as to allow for different levels of service for different customers.
There are many products that allow the implementation of network policies on a user-by-user basis. One example is the MICROSOFT WINDOWS NT 4.0 brand operating system, which has a feature known as the RAS—REMOTE ACCESS SERVICE, which allows the implementation of policies that regulate remote access on a per-user basis. But enforcing network policies in such an ad hoc manner puts a tremendous burden on network administrators, since it requires them to get involved each time a user's account is established in order to apply the policy to that user. Thus, it can be seen that there is a need for a method of enforcing network policies that reduces the amount of involvement required by network administrators.